Motorcycle Amplifier FAQ

Cool, exciting, edgy and definitely hardcore, all these are words that aptly describe how it feels to ride a motorcycle. But without music, the picture seems a tad incomplete. Soon, those sweet, exhilarating rides across town become a long, boring open stretch of road with nothing but the buzz of the engine. Now, don’t get me wrong, all bikers love the way their engine purrs and roars amongst the great outdoors. But after a while, it kind of gets lonely and monotonous. This is where the need for a great aftermarket audio system for your motorcycle comes into play.

A car amplifier is intended to run at very high loads, meaning if installed into a motorcycle, the battery on your bike will quickly be drained. Amplifiers for a motorbike are intended to run at low loads causing no additional strain on your battery.

There is no room for error when choosing your motorcycle's amplifier. This power demanding component has potential to cause power deficiencies if done incorrectly. However, if done properly you'll be able to enjoy quality music at a high volume while on the road.

This means getting yourself a decent pair of speakers, all the relevant mounting gear, some additional features, and toys to entertain yourself as well as any other electronics you might need. Of course, all these elements and extra additions require more juice. Like car audio systems, the most effective way to power up your motorcycle audio equipment is by using an amplifier. However, unlike car amplifiers, most people do not know a lot about how motorcycle amplifiers work and why they are an integral part of a great bike audio system. I’m sure you have lots of question about bike amplifiers. So, here are some of the most frequently asked questions by music loving bikers about their amplifiers:

Motorcycle Amplifier FAQ:

1Why Should I Buy a Motorbike Specific Amplifier?

As you would expect, it’s only natural for people to want to save a few bucks as opposed to making a new purchase. As a result, most bikes end up with a hefty car amplifier whose main job is to boost a couple of handlebar speakers. Sure, this may save you the cost of buying an amplifier meant for bikes, but the hidden costs are so incredible they will make you flip. A car audio amplifier is meant to run at very high loads. As a result, they drain the battery on your motorbike at a very quick rate. One symptom of a mismatched bike amplifier is dimmer headlights and failure to start the engine. Amplifiers meant for motorbikes are actually designed to run at very low loads, and because of this, they do not cause additional strain on your battery. With a new bike amp, your battery will have a longer life span.

2How Much Power Do I Need On My Bike Amp?

This area can be somewhat of a minefield due to the fact that most audio equipment comes with multiple power ratings. To achieve the best results, it’s worth paying full attention to the motorbike amplifier’s RMS power rating. This is an average measure of how much power the amp can put out consistently. This rating should be an exact match or very close to that of the entire power requirement of your bike. There is no one size fits all when selecting a bike amp since most motorcycle systems are highly customized. But whatever your choice is, ensure that it has just enough power to feed all the necessary components in your sound system.

3How Many Features Can a Bike Amplifier Hold?

Don’t be fooled by the smaller size of amplifiers built for motorcycles. Some of these bad boys can cram an insane amount of features and accessories designed to make your experience better. Starting off from the most basic features, motorcycle amplifiers incorporate bass boost, high and low pass filters as well as speaker level inputs. The high and low pass filters ensure that your amplifier is only boosting the frequencies that you want. Remember, you are still working with a motorcycle, so you have to save space by choosing your features.

4Bottom Line

There are a lot of interesting aspects that surround motorcycle audio systems and the most suitable amplifiers. As we’ve already established, bike owners should be more careful when selecting amplifiers than car owners. This is because unlike car owners, bikers cannot really afford to make a mistake on the most power demanding component on their sound system. Getting it even a bit wrong could mean endless costs on new batteries as well as severe power deficiencies to other electrical systems. The great news is that lots of sites now offer complete motorcycle audio kits so that bikers can take the stress out of the process and enjoy their music immediately.